The Final Philip Krieg Film: What it Means for AMPCorp

08/30/2013 17:12

The Philip Krieg films started in 2004, and by about 2007 the franchise had become the clear flagship project of AMPCorp. Philip Krieg movies were always ahead of other projects in plot, special effects, production size and locations, and the GK Productions group that made them became the premier division at AMPCorp. The newest Philip Krieg film always got first billing, the best promotion and the core spot in AMPCorp’s lineup at any given time.

Now all of that is about the change, and it will probably be the biggest single adjustment in AMPCorp project history. After 20 films, AMPCorp’s biggest and best known project is coming to an end.

First of all, let’s take a look at why. Philip Krieg movies, which demand more locations, stunts and organization than other AMPCorp projects, have been becoming increasingly difficult to film. Distance has always been a problem for Martin and Peter Groff and Philip Krieg, the producers of the movies, but with college and careers, that, and the time factor, is about to get worse. As the producers settle into their new life stages,

there is simply less time than what is necessary to do Philip Krieg films, at least well enough for them to deserve the title. Proof of this is the fact that the final movie, “Shadows of the Past,” was suspended, rewritten majorly several times, and completed in the nick of time.

So, with such a major project ending, how will this effect AMPCorp? All the time, ideas and recourses that would have gone into making another Philip Krieg movie will be presumably now be left available. Since AMP Corporation is split into four semi-independent divisions, the discontinuation of Philip Krieg will not affect D-Dowd Production projects like “The Charlotte Ferris Show,” or GK Music’s groups like Beat’s Myth. These projects will all receive the same amount of resources they would had Philip Krieg continued. This is mainly because each of these divisions, and GK Productions, rely on their own separate pool of resources; namely, a unique set of producers, actors and project styles.

There is, however, one exception to this, and that is the AMP Productions division. For years, AMP Productions has lacked a strong and unique style, and more importantly, does not have a clearly defined group of main members. For this reason, it’s more or less been under “Corporate Control” from the top down, rather than under independent control by its members, for the last few years.

This means that, while the other divisions will go on with business as usual, AMPCorp may divert some of the leftover recourses from the Philip Krieg movies into improving AMP Productions’ image and projects. In particular, more energies may be put into the Robert First super hero franchise, which, due to its being centered on an action hero, is the most similar continuing project to Philip Krieg.

Of course the loss of the franchise will most affect its parent division, GK Productions. From 2006-2011, the two or three Philip Krieg movies per year were literally GK Productions only project. It was all it needed then, though. Foreseeing potential changes in the future, the producers of GK Productions decided to start the “Blackwater” series in 2012, but was already losing interest in the project and, before the decision to cut Philip Krieg was made, decided to discontinue the project after its second season. Originally “Shadows of the Past” was not intended to be the final Philip Krieg film. The decision was made after production was already underway and called for some major rewrites to the script. Now that there won’t be a 2014 Philip Krieg film, GK Productions needs something to replace it in order to keep itself active. This could include a third season of “Blackwater” after all. The project was a good safety net because it now gives the division a recent idea to fall back on.

Another likely addition to GK Productions’ 2014 lineup is some sort of standalone action/suspense thriller, similar in style or story to Philip Krieg, but slightly smaller in scale. Because of less availability for GK Productions members, however, it is certain that whatever post-Philip Krieg projects are completed will be of a smaller scale, at least for the immediate future.

The actor Philip Krieg, who was the star of his namesake franchise, will likely be involved in future projects, but only to a certain extent; in particular, his roles in front of the camera will be significantly reduced. Future GK Productions may rely on more crossovers with other divisions’ members than in the past as well.

The post-Philip Krieg AMPCorp will indeed be different as a whole. “The Charlotte Ferris Show,” usually second to the former project, will now become AMPCorp’s flagship franchise. Even this now time-tested project, however, is susceptible to the same fate as the Philip Krieg franchise for the same reasons. AMPCorp will have to continually adapt to changing circumstances, adjusting where it must, but hopefully keeping the creativity and enjoyment alive that has sustained it in the past.